Parliament’s Monsoon Session remains formally open 10 days after both Houses were adjourned sine die, fuelling speculation that the government could be weighing a special sitting to push through a key delimitation-linked Constitution amendment bill.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on August 13. The session is usually prorogued within a few days, but no notification had been issued as of Sunday morning. The Budget Session, for instance, ended on April 18 and was prorogued two days later.
Under the Constitution, Parliament is convened and prorogued by the President on the recommendation of the government.
The delay has intensified speculation over a possible move to pass a Constitution amendment bill linked to the implementation of the Women's Reservation law ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
An earlier attempt during the Budget Session failed to secure the numbers required for passage. Opposition-ruled southern states have raised concerns that a population-based delimitation exercise could reduce their representation in the Lok Sabha.
To address those concerns, the government is understood to be considering a formula that would increase Lok Sabha seats across states and Union territories by a uniform 50 per cent.
There had been suggestions that the government could seek passage of the Constitution amendment bill after Independence Day.
The Congress on Sunday questioned the delay in proroguing the session and alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was still looking for the numbers needed to pass the delimitation-linked bill in a special session.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the gap between sine die adjournment and prorogation is generally two to four days, though there have also been instances when both occurred on the same day.
"Ten days have gone by since this Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die but still there is no information on its prorogation," he said.
Ramesh acknowledged that the gap was 28 days in 2015 and 20 days in 2021, but said there were no "diabolical" moves afoot then.
Speculation over the government's plans has persisted since Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay raised concerns over delimitation at the August 21 Southern Zonal Council meeting in Mahabalipuram, chaired by Shah.
"I urge the Union government to provide a clear legislative assurance that no state will suffer a reduction in its percentage of representation in Parliament on account of its success in population stabilisation," Vijay said.
His remarks marked a departure from Tamil Nadu's categorical opposition to delimitation expressed in a resolution moved in the state Assembly on August 12.
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who also attended the meeting, called for retaining the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats for the next 25 years.
(With inputs from PTI)
